<p>So this year (Junior year), my schedule is as follows:</p>
<p>AP Biology
Physics 1 Honors
PreCalculus Honors
Theology
AP Macroeconomics
Spanish 3 Honors
English 3 Honors
AP US History</p>
<p>This is the most rigorous course load the school offers for anyone who isn't a senior.</p>
<p>However, next year I have the opportunity to take a challenging course load so I'm enthused:</p>
<p>AP Physics
AP Calculus
Theology
Spanish 4 Honors (They're not offering AP Spanish next year since only 4 of us qualify)
AP English
AP Comparative Gov.
AP US Gov.</p>
<p>I have a free period to fill up with a class or study hall. So I guess what I'm asking is should I have a study hall next year, take some easier college prep (or honors) courses, or fill it with one of the few AP classes I haven't taken (AP Human Geography or AP World History)?</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>Fill your free period with a study hall, you will probably need it. Is theology mandatory or something that you have to take it two years in a row? Another AP Social Studies class isn’t going to help you, you already have 3. </p>
<p>Is your day 8 periods + lunch or would the “free period” be lunch?</p>
<p>Theology is mandatory (Catholic school and all). And yep! 8 periods plus a lunch is my schedule.
Thanks for the responses, I may take a study hall (although I don’t know how this would look like to colleges IE: Yale, Columbia)</p>
<p>I’ll tell you how a study hall will look to Yale and Columbia: one easy way to cut you in the first round. They’re on the lookout for slacking seniors, always a bad indication and thus someone they don’t want right off the bat.
Grades and curriculum rigor are the #1 factor, as in, necessary but not sufficient. So if you don’t meet that benchmark, you better be absolutely extraordinary (Olympian -be it for math or iceskating, international trumpet prodigy or chess champion, etc).
However, 8 periods + lunch, so, 9 periods… yikes. Rigorous schedule indeed.
You can, without “'damage”, take a “fun” class that you’ll be able to talk about with passion and wit during your interview. 
Are there such classes at your school?</p>
<p>@MYOS1634- I highly doubt Yale or Columbia admissions officers look at students and cut them because they took one study hall. Allocating one’s time responsibly (not overloading) shows maturity and readiness for work at the college level. </p>
<p>I’m sorry Mandalorian. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
It’s not just “one study hall”, which in itself is not positive (although with an 8-period day it may be seen as acceptable for freshmen and sophomores), it’s “one study hall senior year”.
Free periods and study halls taken by a senior are extremely looked down upon, unless they’re required by the school. If the school’s most rigorous curriculum requires 8 periods, then there must be 8 classes (of various kinds) in the schedule. That class doesn’t have to be honors or AP, but it should be either core or something a student is passionate about. What the free period indicates can be a) student is overwhelmed by schedule and needs the free period to do homework - how will student perform in our environment? or b) student is resting on his/her laurels and thinks it’s time to relax: bad attitude and a risk of senioritis, or c) student is just lazy or d) student has no passion for learning and among all the possibilities can’t think of one he’d be interested in or e) all of the above.
The only exception is if the free period was used for work, an internship (like being TA for a teacher, in the administration office…), or a community college class - ie., if the “free” period really wasn’t “free” but used in a smart/personal manner.
This only applies for Top 25-35 universities and LACs.
It doesn’t matter to most flagships as long as you have 5 classes (or more). </p>
<p>I’ll look into taking a “fun” class, although I’ve pretty much exhausted my options for classes that actually interest me at school.
Thank you both for your thorough responses!</p>
<p>@MYOS1634- I am intrigued by how you know this, maybe I am wrong. What are your credentials?</p>
<p>@Mandalorian: click on my name and read whatever relevant message I’ve posted. That should suffice to provide enough of an answer. :)</p>
<p>@MYOS1634-I tried that, didn’t find anything helpful. Are you are an admissions officer? </p>